


Court of Stars: Prologue

by ivorytower



Series: Court of Stars [1]
Category: Warhammer 40.000
Genre: Gen, NaNoWriMo 2017, because essentially it's a novel or a series of novellas, but this is the proofread version, court of stars, ivorytowerblr, rightly it's more like wh20k, the whole thing is on my tumblr if you want to read it, though it took me 364 days to write this monster, whichever you prefer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-03
Updated: 2018-11-03
Packaged: 2019-08-17 05:36:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16510340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ivorytower/pseuds/ivorytower
Summary: It is the golden age; humanity has developed self-sustaining technology and stretched out towards the stars. They have created and maintained alliances with alien races and established a network of independent colonies, each developing their own sense of identity and society. They have survived a terrible war with their own creations and emerged all the greater for it. A new class of human is beginning to emerge, with fear and fascination warring it out within the hearts and minds of the people.It is the twenty-sixth millennium, and everything that humanity has ever believed is about to change.





	Court of Stars: Prologue

The Golden Age of Technology.

It is a time of wonder.

It is the 26th Millennium, the age of colonization. For centuries, humanity has been crawling towards the stars, expanding out throughout space. Now, countless thousands of worlds played host to mankind, each a precious fragment of Earth’s civilizations and culture. Aliens observe this expansion with curiosity, disdain, and patronizing indulgence, waiting for these settlers to live or die according to the whims of uncaring gods.

Humanity has a precious gift, however, the Standard Template Construct system, a complex artificial intelligence replicated across countless colony fleets and settled worlds, proving everything humans need from earthmovers to tanks, from agridomes to parliament buildings, all seated at the very fingertips of those who need them most. Sadly, these systems have also brought about the Men of Iron, cyborgs controlled by malicious, corrupted AIs who attempted to wipe out humanity before being put down, leaving humans warier and more jaded about technology.

At the same time, the gift of psychic power has begun to bloom more predominantly amongst humans, creating a sub-caste of people who are revered and feared in equal measure, controlled carefully by handlers, lest their raw might rage out of control and destroy those around them. They are viewed with suspicion, with contempt, and with awe. Their numbers rise year by year, heralding something new and potentially sinister for the human race.

In the distant reaches of the galaxy, trouble stirs as Eldar civilization begins to crack and crumble, the waves of exodus providing the prelude to the reality-breaking events on the horizon. Storms gather in an area of space distant from Earth, yet none will be out of reach of the consequences of this event, two centuries of hedonism, depravity, and short-sightedness leading up to a storm that threatens to wrack the galaxy and leave it forever changed. All the while a pair of individuals scour humanity for champions against the inclimate tempest.

Ten years of research. Ten worlds housing those of great destiny. Twenty beacons of hope.

The age of illuminated brightness is about to be plunged into the age of darkness.

**Author's Note:**

> DVD Commentary Notes on Tumblr: [Prologue](http://ivorytowerblr.tumblr.com/post/179740240651/wh20k-fic-court-of-stars-prologue62-epilogue)


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